LOVE OF GOD IN SAIVISM
K.
SUBRAHMANYAM
Love is an experience of every throbbing heart. Consciously or unconsciously every being is in love with life, light and joy. One is, therefore, essentially in love with the Self, for it is the very name of Existence-knowledge-Bliss, or in other Words light, life and joy. And they are verily the Love. As such there is love and love alone ever fragrant, vibrant, bright and sweet embracing all in the blissful warmth of oneness. And this is Shivahood or Shiva the embodiment of love. As Saint Thirumular says, only the ignorant distinguish between God Shiva and love. And it is wisdom to identify the two.
All
in the universe are the manifestations of love (or Shiva) in varying degrees.
But this Shivahood remains hidden in many for want of
the Jiva’s wisdom. The all-embracing, effulgent love
appears impure and ignoble because of the false identification of the Self with
the non-self due to ignorance, although love in itself is ever pure,
irrespective of its object. Despite its purity fire receives blows on account
of its association with iron. When it is love for the gratification of senses,
it is dubbed ignoble and called lust. This ego-centric lust shoots
its branches into the world of materialism as lust for wealth, woman, power,
position, fame and so on, causing competition, separatism and segregation at
every stage and situation in life. Obstructed desire is anger. And lust is but
love adulterated and polluted with desire born of ignorance. Thus fear, anger,
hatred, envy and enmity are the manifestations of this pollution.
To
realise the Self is to be free from ego. To attain Shiva-hood is to free the Jiva from ignorance. To enjoy love is to be free from the
pollution. Ways suggested to erase the ego, dispell the ignorance, and purge the pollution are many.
Broadly, they are positive and negative. Suppression of the senses, control of
the mind, mortification of the body are the negative
path of stress and strain. Austerity and sacrifice in this are hard to practise. The positive path is that of love. It is by the
sweet path of love, that we become pure and pious. It is the love of the higher
that prompts us to be austere and sacrifice the lower. Love of
the Lord, in proportion to its intensity, modifies the course and impetuosity
of the senses and desires; and at one stage regains its original splendour and glory. It shines in its purity and bliss. As
such, love is sweet and seeks no return. It is self-dedication with no thought
of profit. It is all-embracing and knows no rivalry. It is all compassion and
sparkles in sacrifice and blossoms in service.
Love
and Shiva ate alien to none. Man loves love for he is intrinsically love. And he is drawn instinctively to the pure love,
wherever it is. It is the pure love which is auspicious. Every feeling heart
invariably seeks the good and the auspicious. Man is all admiration to them and
is in love with them; and displays his love and admiration in worship, song and
service. ‘Shiva’ is auspicious. He is Subhamkara, the
doer of the good; Shivamkara the doer of the
auspicious and hence He is Samkara. And
whoever longs for the auspicious is a devotee of Lord Samkara.
This
Shiva the auspicious is the premapayonidhi, Premasagara, the ocean of love, source of love, and the
very love, Premamurti or Premaswaroopa,
for He is ever free from the shackles of sensuality. It is pure love, when it
is not tarnished by the erosion of sense pleasure. In Shiva’s purity of love
lust is burnt. Manmadha in mythology is reduced to
ashes by the divinity in Shiva. “Vulgar sense pleasure can no more lurk in His
heart than a tiny dew drop settle in the blazing sun.” Carnality has to be
subdued for the manifestation of divinity; for the attainment of Shivahood; for the realisation of the Self. And the path is
but the love of Shiva in which senses ate not suppressed but
sublimated.
It is love, when distinctions disappear in integrity, fear is dispelled in the feeling of oneness, and
enmity in amity. In the radiance of the all-embracing Shiva’s love, there is no
place for fear and oppression. He is the loving Lord of
the Universe, the compassionate Father of the Cosmos, the Triloka
Kutumbin. Samkara Mahadeva, the auspicious great God is majestically seated
in Kailasa, the cosmic sanctuary. Peace,
bliss and love are embodied in Him, emanating wisdom and illumination Uma or the Ma of the universe is all
tenderness by his side. Displaying the glory of the Holy Parents of love and
compassion are the two sons nearby Ganesha and Karthikeya, the very embodiments of wisdom and valour. The family is free from all want in the overflowing
affluence of love. So inviting and bracing is the Lord’s love that
all fear, hatred, envy and enmity in the vicinity lose their identity and merge
in the all-absorbing love. Illustrating this all-conquering efficacy of pure
love, we find in mythology, creatures of various species, of divergent
functions and distinct natures, opposed to one another, living in
a wholesome harmony at the Lord’s abode, Kailasa.
Lord’s vehicle is a robust bull. In this proximity is the Mother’s vehicle,
another beast the lion, opposed and antipathic to the
bull in every respect. In between is Ganesha’s
tiny mouse enjoying the edibles with no fear of the crawling cobras on the
Lord’s body. Nor are the snakes afraid of Kumaran’s peacock. All feel secure in His presence. All
enjoy His love. All beings, vile and noble, live in harmony. No wonder, man is
drawn to this love of the Lord Shiva!
Love
knows no reservation and gives itself spontaneously for the welfare of one and
all. Sacrifice and service are verily the core of
genuine love. And here is the great God of Hindus, who is the embodiment of
sacrifice. In the days of yore, the ocean of milk was churned by the Devas and demons to obtain ambrosia. The sweet fruits of
their labour were snatched away by the gods. But the
bitter yield of their toil was the dreadful poison. At its sight, all took
heels in fear of destruction. The poison was at their heels to devour them.
None came to their rescue. The helpless churners rushed to Mahadeva,
presented their despicable plight and surrendered at His lotus feet. The
compassionate God assumed protection to the panickied
beings. The Lord of love, the king of sacrifice swallowed the poison and
restored peace to the agitated multitudes. In the words of Sister Nivedita, “He accepts that which all else reject (and
dread). All the pain and evil of the universe, He took as His share, to save
the world, when He drank the poison of things and made His throat blue
forever.” Thus, the Lord proved the all-absorbing nature of love and
established Himself through love, as Thyagaraja or Thyagisa, the King of Sacrifice. His body of burnished gold
colour and throat of blue tinge, resemble the fire of
sacrifice with a blue spot in the flame, symbolising Tyaga in love. The episode is not a mere myth of fiction of
an idle mind to be brushed aside by those who profess
themselves to be great thinkers. Fiction has its foundation in
fact and myth has its roots in truth. This loving act of Shiva’s sacrifice is a
veritable fact of everyday experience. Bringing out the truth of love our Swamiji interprets the myth, “In their act of churning the
ocean of life, the human beings (both of vile and noble nature) are constantly
producing poison. They inhale pure air and exhale foul air; they drink good
water and bring it out as urine; they partake of tasty food and evacuate it as
excreta. Through all the apertures in their bodies men
are constantly ejecting bad matter amounting to poison. Assuming the form of
Mother Nature, Neelakanta is ceaselessly consuming
that poison and converting it into ambrosia. This benign act of His goes on
eternally.”
Love
conquers death and so is eternal. Shiva humbled Yama,
when the latter attempted to snatch away the young Markandeya.
A lad of intense devotion, Markandeya at the tender
age of sixteen, transcended death in the sweetness of his love for Shiva. He
who is all love conquers all including death, for true love attracts,
embraces and absorbs all in its vastness and oneness. And Shiva is this love
and so He is Mrityunjaya. He is Tripurahara,
Tripurantaka, and Trigunateeta,
for in the stillness of his blissfull love, all Gunas, distinctions and distractions disappear.
The
next essential trait of love is that it seeks no possession. And the Lord of Saivism possesses so little! He has the cremation ground
for His dwelling place, the ten sides for His clothes, cobras for His oraaments, ash for His cosmetics and skull for His begging
bowl. Yet He possesses all. He is Viswanatha for He is Love that gives Itself to all those who seek It. Renunciation is really the
wealth to be coveted. Sacrifice ennobles life, enriches love and sweetens our
existence.
And
finally, the benevolent Shiva is of rigorous austerities and is ever established
in the blissful trance for the welfare and guidance of all seekers after Bliss.
Love
is beauty and beauty is love and this is the nectar of life here and hereafter.
So is our dear Lord Sundareswar. He is, at the same
time, the strange but sublime mixture of monasticism and motherhood as Arthanariswara. What else does a man seek, other than the
love for him, who is but love?
Intense
love is devotion. Nothing in the world is mean or bad to the one of true
devotion. In the field of love, nothing is profane or derogatory. No word or
action is wrong or vulgar when prompted by genuine love. Nothing is unworthy of
offering, when there is the accompanying heart. There is divinity shining in
all. And divinity draws all towards it in devotion. Devotion is born of love
and knows no distinction. Devotion becomes visible in service and worship. It
is the sublimation of senses that is in evidence in a devotee. It is the love
of the Infinite that is the life-blood in him. Ugliness is lost
in the radiance of love; Self-esteem and self-comfort are contrary to the love
of the universal Self. Separatism and segregation are ways of
the worldly men. Humility and sacrifice are but the basis of sincere love. Love
seeks no possession, knows no fear, sees no rival and is at bliss to merge in
the Absolute. Offer of the individual self is the highest of all offers. And
this highest philosophical truth finds its sweet expression in the devotional
literature of Saivism and Shiva Bhaktas.
Devotees
enjoy God in various ways. It is the ambrosia of love in different shapes that
the votaries of Shiva enjoy. The four Bhavanas of Dasya, Vatsalya, Sakhya and
The
reverential service of the Dasa or servant, the
filial affection and duty of the Satputra or son, and
the fond and proud intimacy of the Sakha
or friend are sweetly blended in the Mathura Bhakti
with the additional flavour of absorption in the
union. Like a river becoming broader and broader, while rushing to merge in the
vast sea, the Dasya Bhakti, Vatsalya
Bhakti and Sakhya Bhakti add to the flood of Mathura Bhakti.
Among
the great Shivabhaktas, Sri Appar,
Sri Jnana Sambandar, Sri Sundarar and Sri Manikavasagar
illustrate the four Bhavanas in their lives and songs
of devotion. Each is intensely in love with Shiva with the specific fragrance
of one distinct Bhavana.
Fear
is something unknown to the Lord’s servant. Danger and destruction cannot come
near the Lord’s devotees. Death is humbled by the Shivabhaktas.
Eternal Bliss they enjoy in the service at His feet. And that is Saint Appar, the servant of the Lord, the apostle of God, the Dasa of Shiva, the dauntless hero of spirituality, the past
master in singing His glory in picturesque poetry and the inspirer of Saivism. His divine defiance to the command of the local
ruler speaks of the strength of faith. His songs are the enchanting utterances
of his devotional fervour. A savant of Truth and a
servant of Shiva, he has entertained enmity with none and has seen divinity in
all. A devotee of a very high order, he is devoid of narrow views and declares
in one of his hymns, “If people out of their narrowness of mind promulgate new
systems out of hatred or jealousy, even such would be acceptable to our Lord.”
His is a prayer for the uninterrupted love and service of Shiva. Nothing is
more enjoyable to him than service at the lotus feet of Shiva.
Blessed
is Bala Sambandar to partake of the milk of Jnana even when he was a small child. How fortunate he is
to be fondled by the divine Mother Uma! Shankara the auspicious Lord graced him with the dawn of
knowledge and splendour of divinity. Bala Jnana Samhandar considers himself
the son of Shiva and finds pleasure in serving the lotus feet of his Holy
Parent. It is his filial duty to spread and sing the glory of the Father. A son
of Shiva he has the blazing splendour of wisdom,
energy of divine grace, and the glow of love with which he puts down all alien
faiths. He believes that his thoughts, words and deeds are ever prompted by the
Father. Wrong words and deeds, if any, are also ascribed to the will of Shiva,
for Shiva is his very life-blood. How balmy it is for the son of Shiva to sing:
Father dear, thou art responsible for all my follies and virtues alike. Thou
art my knowledge, thou art my light and very breath.
What else do I seek, when I have your grace and enjoy your love always! My
existence is meaningful and sweet because of you. Hara, Paramesa,
Paramapita, Parandhama, am
I gifted with the tongues infinite to sing thy glory?
Saint
Sundarar is Shiva’s Sakha
or friend. There is nothing secret between the two. With
the liberty of an intimate friend St. Sundarar opens his heart of diverse feelings and longings
to the God Sundareswar. He, in the intensity of love,
goes to the extent of assigning tasks to Shiva. And with the magnanimity of an
associate, Shiva does fulfil the wishes of His
devoted friend. Shiva descends from Kailasa and
arranges the marriage of his chum with a girl of Sundarar’s
choice. And how blessed is a comrade to sing: Shankara
you are the glow of my heart and joy of my breath; yow are the music of my
life, Bliss of my soul. Thou art my bosom friend and the associate in all my
actions. You got me for your Sakha and should I be
grateful? Shiva, Kalyanakara, Kanakasabesa,
words lack feeling and ecstacy transcends expression in words, how then can I
thank Thee for Thy Grace?
And finally we have the great Manikavasagar. While the hymns sung by the former three coustitute the Thevaram, of the Thiruvachakam of Manikavasagar, it has been said that he whose heart is not melted by it must have had a stone for his heart. In the words of Dr. Radhakrishnan, “Tiruvachagam depicts in beautiful hymns the progress of the soul from the bondage of ignorance and passion into liberty of light and love; its first awakening, its joy and exaltation, waywardness and despondency, struggle and unrest, the peace and joy of union.” In the intuition of God the distinctions of knower, knowledge and known are said to disappear. And that is the ecstatic experience of Manikavasagar in the love of Shiva. It is in Manikavasagar again that we find love in its varied fragrance, notes, colours, tastes and experience. It is the Mathura Bhakti or the sweet love between Nayaka and Nayaki or hero and heroine, which includes and transcends all emotional exuberance and ecstacies of experience in love. It is the abundance of love that finds the universe, Sivamayam, leading the lover to the union in the thrill and bliss of Sivoham, where Jivahood merges in Shivahood. In such a state of blissful love, every utterance is sweet and sublime. How fortunate and intimate is the lover to sing: Shiva, Thou should’st be mad to roam about in the cremation ground; Hara, Thou should’st be mad to bear the matted hair; Sankara, Thou should’st be mad to let the cobras crawl on you; Iswara, Thou should’st be mad to beg for alms in a skull; Kripasagara, Thou art really mad to choose me for your votary. Verily you are the maddest to give Yourself to me and receive me in exchange. What a bad bargain for you! I pity your loss. I am happy and proud for I deceived you successfully and gained you in full. You are caught like a fish in the net of love. You are bound. You cannot escape from my heart.
Love
of Shiva is neither a fit of madness, nor an incredulous mysticism. Nor is it
merely a myth detailing the love and wedlock of Parvati
and Parameswara. It is a veritable truth of
evolutionary process. It is at once scientific and poetic, rational and
emotional. Magnetic needle points to the North always. Rivers roll into the
sea. Jiva longs to attain Shivahood.
Interpreting the marriage of Uma and Shiva, our
President Swamiji expounds the physical and
philosophical truth behind the myth: Parvati is Mulaprakriti–the Primordial Energy. Because of her being in
her unsullied native state she is called Kanyakumari–the
young virgin. Nature in her original state is addressed in this manner. She
pledges to make herself worthy partner of Shiva. The resolve transforms itself
into penance or self-preparation. So, she becomes the awe-inspiring embodiment
of austere penance. This act of Shakti when
translated into simple scientific language means that inert matter struggles
through aeon to evolve into conscience. This is the
picture that nature presents everywhere. It is like the iron filings trying to
get themselves cleansed of all dross and at the same
time to be drawn to a mighty magnet. Nature is ever presenting herself as
undergoing self-purification. Ultimately she aims at merging in the cosmic
consciousness which is Shiva. The dross is removed and the union takes place.
“Nature regains her original state which is pure consciousness. The seeming
insentient is being reunited with the sentient and this process is incessantly
taking place in the phenomenal world.”
Love
of Shiva and longing for the Bliss of Union with Him, are thus inborn and it is
by the path of devotion that the self is purified and love is enjoyed. While
many struggle, suffer and plod through various ways to reach the Highest, Bhaktas dance their primrose path of love to embrace Shiva,
the Sublime, in the eternal Bliss of Union.
Swami
Vivekananda gives the philosophy and practice of love, which is the very
quintessence of all experience and knowledge in the march towards perfection
and of perfection. He says: “Listen, friend, I will speak my heart to thee; I
have found in my life this Truth Supreme; Buffeted by waves in this whirl of
life there is one ferry that takes across the sea–formulas of worship, control
of breath, science, philosophy, systems varied, relinquishment, possession, and
the like, all these are but the delusions of the mind...Love, Love,...that is
the one thing, the Bole treasure. Aye, born heir to the Infinite thou art,
within the heart is the ocean of love, “give”, “give away”–whoever asks return,
his ocean dwindles down to a mere drop. From highest Brahman to the yonder
worm, and to the very minutest atom, everywhere is the same God, the all-love,
friend, offer mind, soul, body at their feet.